


Voiles Rouges

by retribution_comes



Category: Les Miserables, pirates - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-04 05:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1076829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retribution_comes/pseuds/retribution_comes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marius Pontmercy, after getting kicked out of his Grandfathers house, decides to embark on a new chapter of his life and joins the French Navy.  When Captain Lamarque of the Achéron dies, leaving Enjolras as Captain, he and the crew face a moral dilemma over their roles in the Navy.</p><p>Perhaps it is time for a change ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Voiles Rouges

Marius Pontmercy sat alone at a small table near the tavern door.  The bar was filled with drunken sailors having recently returned from their long voyages out at sea.  All of them seemed eager to return home but Marius felt the complete opposite … he longed for something new, something that wasn’t his home in Paris, and all of the papers said, _La Royale_ Navy was the place to find something new.  Out at sea there were adventures to be had, enemies to fight, new countries to behold and he could do it all while still serving his own country at the same time.  It seemed like the right fit and Marius Pontmercy was ready for a change.

            Lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice that a man had taken the empty chair right across from his.  Marius sighed and looked up from his drink, only to be met with the smiling face of a young man in his early twenties, not much older than himself.  Marius jumped, startled by the man’s seemingly magical appearance, drawing a soft laugh from the stranger.  He had brown curly hair that matched the shade of his eyes, which seemed kind, but also hardened by experience.  His blue and red coat was casually unbuttoned to reveal a white shirt covered in dirt and dried blood. 

            “You are definitely not a sailor,” The man said. 

            Marius straightened up, taking a defensive tone. “And what makes you say that, monsieur?” 

            “You are not in uniform and you have a packed bag at your feet.” 

            Marius relaxed. “Oh.  Well, you are right, I am not a sailor but I am hoping to be.”

            The man smiled. “Well, you certainty have come to the right place.” He stuck out his hand over the table.  “Matthieu Courfeyrac, acting lieutenant aboard the Achéron under the command of Captain Lamarque.” 

            Marius shook his hand and returned the smile. “Marius Pontmercy.  Do you have to say all of that every time you introduce yourself?” 

            Courfeyrac smiled cheekily. “The women love it and it usually impresses the men.” 

            “Don’t let him fool you!” A man, clearly drunk, came up behind Courfeyrac and slapped him on the back. “Mostly he says it all because it has turned into his name.” The drunk sat down in the chair next to Marius. “Aboard a ship, out at sea for a year, you stop being you and start being a rank and a body to keep the ship sailing.” He took a swig from his bottle and leaned in closer to Marius. “You are just a mechanism.” 

            Courfeyrac sighed and motioned to the man who had interrupted their conversation. “Monsieur Pontmercy this is—“

            “’Ey! I can introduce myself, Acting Lieutenant.” The drunk turned towards Marius and smiled crookedly.  His black hair swam in front of his face and his dark green eyes added to the generally dark air about him.  His garb was different from Courfeyrac’s, he wore a simple white shirt and brown jacket, and Marius assumed he must be of lower rank.  His suspicions were confirmed when the gentleman introduced himself.  “Tristan Grantaire, rigger aboard the Achéron under the command of the most illustrious Captain Lamarque.” 

            Marius could hear the sarcasm in the word _illustrious_ and wasn’t surprised when Courfeyrac shot Grantaire a glare.

            “Careful sailor.” Courfeyrac said. “Disrespect of a senior officer—“

            “I know, I know,” Grantaire said, getting up from his chair, “ten lashes.  Hasn’t stopped me before.”  He gave another crooked smile before wandering back to the bar.

            Marius turned back to Courfeyrac.  “What does he mean, ‘hasn’t stopped me before’?” 

            Courfeyrac sighed and shook his head. “He has received many lashes for his disrespect.”

            “He has said disrespectful things to Captain that many times?” Marius asked in disbelief.

            Courfeyrac shook his head. “Not to Captain Lamarque, to the Lieutenant.” 

            “Does your Lieutenant warrant such remarks?” 

            “Absolutely not.  The two are just polar opposites. It is …” Courfeyrac laughed. “It is hard to explain. You will just have to wait until you them in person.” 

            Marius raised an eyebrow. “In person?”

            “You do want to join the Navy, correct?” 

            “Yes.”

            “Well, we lost a few seamen in our last pirate encounter, so we need more crew members.”

            “Pirates!” Marius exclaimed. 

            Courfeyrac nodded. “They thought we were a merchant ship and attacked us.” He grinned. “Their mistake.  Their ship lies at the bottom of the ocean now.”

            “And … the blood on your shirt …” Marius motioned towards the brown stains. 

            “It’s not mine.” Courfeyrac said, answering the unasked question. 

            “So, you have killed people then?” 

            Courfeyrac smiled sadly and stood up from his chair.  He closed his jacket around his bloodstained shirt and began to button it up.  “The job is not for the faint of heart, my friend.”

            Now that Courfeyrac was standing, Marius noticed the curled whip that hung at his side. “Do you … give the lashes?” He asked.

            Courfeyrac adjusted his jacket. “Like I said, the job is not for the faint of heart.”  He stood up straight and bowed slightly at Marius. “If you do wish to sail the seas and serve your country, be at the fifth dock tomorrow morning at four bells.”  Courfeyrac almost laughed at the blank expression on Marius’s face. “That is, 6:00 in the morning.”

            Marius nodded. “I will be there.” 

            Courfeyrac bowed once more and then headed to the exit of the tavern.  Marius turned around just in time to see someone meet his new acquaintance at the door.  A tall young man, also dressed in a naval uniform, with a long sword at his side, stopped Courfeyrac and began talking to him.  The one thing that made the man stand out quite starkly from everyone else in the tavern was his wild, curly blonde hair that seemed to almost glow as a candle did.  

            Courfeyrac suddenly pointed to Marius and the other man turned to look at him.  His bright blue eyes sent a shiver up Marius’s spine, especially when he saw the scar that started at the top of the blonde’s right eyebrow and traveled down to the top of his cheek.  Marius slightly tipped his head and the blonde returned the gesture quickly before turning back to Courfeyrac and walking with him out the door.

            Marius turned back around and finished off his drink in one swallow.  He had an early morning tomorrow.

            The first day of possibly the rest of his life was about to begin. 

  

**Author's Note:**

> (Visit my tumblr page to look at the artwork for this chapter this will be an illustrated story -- http://we-are-the-others-that-rose.tumblr.com/post/69526751985/voiles-rouges-chapter-one)


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